Quick Q: anyone know of any sites that compare the mechanics of the newer suspension designs? I'm curious about how they work and why they make a difference.

FC, this isn't exactly what you're looking for, but it's not an adversitement, either -- follow the link below. It'll take you to a post by a guy who goes by 'Derby' who is into suspension and who's goal in life seems to be test riding every suspension design someone can come up with, and he manages some pretty decent analysis of them, too.

If you go to their search engine, and search for suspension designs you're curious about, use his name in the Search by User Name box, you'll be off to a good start.

There is a guy that does a bunch of path analysis on his site, but I'm drawing a big blank -- I'll post it later if I can find it. The designs he reviews stop at VPP, though, and I consider some of his statements to be suspect, but it's worth looking at.

How amusing, he makes no mention of the FSR at all. At least with the link I gave he can see the differences in real time. There's a reason Specialized licenses it's design out to other companies - it simply works better

thanks guys. i was hearing a lot about maestro in the past couple of days and wondered how it was different to dw link, horst link and vpp, never really truly understood the effects of each design, but there's so many sites out there that tell you what they *claim* to achieve.

thanks guys. i was hearing a lot about maestro in the past couple of days and wondered how it was different to dw link, horst link and vpp, never really truly understood the effects of each design, but there's so many sites out there that tell you what they *claim* to achieve.

The Maestro is essentially a DW-link. I wouldn't be surprised if Giant faces a lawsuit over it. It wouldn't be the first time that they've infringed on someone elses patents

How amusing, he makes no mention of the FSR at all. At least with the link I gave he can see the differences in real time. There's a reason Specialized licenses it's design out to other companies - it simply works better

Actually, he does:

Quote:

The Intense Tracer is the best balances all around trail bike I've ever ridden. It bobs very little when seated or standing and pedaling hard and is superb handling and braking, and can be adjusted to be climbing oriented, a bit slacker angled for technical oriented, or sport race oriented, all in one bike.

The Tracer (since replaced by the Spyder) is an exact replica of the old Stumpjumper (pre 2004) design. Intense licensed the specs from Specialized and basically just copied their design in every conceivable way (my "primary" riding buddy rides an '02 Tracer so I'm VERY familiar with it.)

Without mentioning the FSR design specifically, he does say that it's one of the best on the market through his review of the Tracer.

The Tracer (since replaced by the Spyder) is an exact replica of the old Stumpjumper (pre 2004) design. Intense licensed the specs from Specialized and basically just copied their design in every conceivable way (my "primary" riding buddy rides an '02 Tracer so I'm VERY familiar with it.)

Without mentioning the FSR design specifically, he does say that it's one of the best on the market through his review of the Tracer.

Forgot all about the Tracer having the FSR license. What's even more messed up is that I was considering getting one of those BECAUSE they used the design.
Oh well my arguement is supported at any rate